The Most Powerful Magic of Them All
by OliviaWildesBoobs
Summary: Regina can't shake the feeling that something is up after Emma appears to be the source of her magic. She can't think of any reason why her magic wouldn't work until Emma touched her. Henry has an idea, though. He believes it's "True love" at work. Regina goes to great lengths to disprove the theory, but what happens when she can't? Takes place during/after 2x2.
1. Chapter 1

"Emma Swan is going to put me into an early grave. If she knew how to keep her hands to herself I wouldn't be in this mess. I would have opened the portal by myself and the girl wouldn't have been anywhere close to it!" Regina grumbled to herself, flipping through the pages of the spell book she had acquired from Mr. Gold.

"You think Emma opened the portal?" Henry asked, startling Regina. She had forgotten he had his own key and now came and went as he pleased.

"To be entirely honest Henry, I'm not certain." Regina sighed, turning around to face Henry, who stood in the doorway to the study.

"Why do you think it was her?" He furrowed his brow, confused.

"She touched my arm as the portal opened..." Regina confessed.

"What are you looking for?" Henry strode in, sitting next to her to look at the spell book.

"Anything to get your family back." She flipped a few pages, scanning them over.

"Would this help at all?" Henry asked, slipping the burnt hat out of his backpack and handing it to his mother.

"Henry, you may have just saved them... You're a bright boy. I'm sorry I never told you that. I'm so proud of you." Regina grinned; flipping back a few pages to a restoration spell she knew was there.

"Mom... I love you. You're still my mom. No one could ever replace you. Now, what is that?" Henry asked, touching the script on the page.

"It's a spell that we're going to use to save your other mother." Regina took Henry's hand, letting her magic swirl into his body.

"Whoa, did you just give me magic?"Henry asked, staring at his hand which was now surrounded by a purple mist.

"Sort of. That can be used by anyone and has its limits. Think about whatever you want to happen and that will do it for you. You have your own magic though, Henry. You're the Son of a queen and a warrior princess. You just have to harness it." Regina smiled as he examined his hand and focused on it intently. From thin air, a platter with pizza and a bowl of pasta appeared in Henry's lap.

"That was incredible." Henry marveled at the tray, not sure what to do now.

"Why did you create pasta? You hate any sauce with tomatoes in it." Regina chuckled.

"It's yours. I figured being heroes on an empty stomach was a bad idea." Henry shrugged.

"You're probably right. You'd know better than I would." She smiled, overjoyed with her son's first attempt at magic.


	2. Chapter 2

"Focus on the milk, Henry." Regina whispered, peering over his shoulder as he glared at the jug intently.

"I'm trying." He bit his lip, trying to get the container to levitate and pour into the glass. His face began to redden from holding his breath for so long just as he scrunched up his nose. He was surprised when the milk flew upward and crashed back down onto the counter, pouring half of its contents all over the room.

"Good job! That was amazing for your first time using your own magic!" Regina exclaimed, pulling the boy into her arms and kissing him atop his head.

"No it wasn't… I got milk all over everything… I'm sorry, Mom… I'm no good at this… Emma and Mary Margaret are gone, and I'm not going to be able to do this in time to help save them…" Henry frowned, his eyes tearing up. He turned to tuck his head into his mother's shoulder, seeking comfort from her for the first time in over a year.

"Honey, don't worry. Emma and Sn- … Mary Margaret. They're brave, and they are strong. They are survivors." Regina rubbed Henry's back, trying to soothe his now fast and heavy breathing.

"What if we can't save them? What if they don't survive?" Henry asked, looking up at his mom.

"I don't know much about love, family, or happy endings. But I do know a lot about how wrong those three things can go. They go wrong when you stop believing. You'll have your happy ending Henry. But you have to keep believing in them. When things looked bad, I forgot about hope, and that's how I got where I am today. So keep trying." Her hand came up to rest on Henry's cheek, as she smiled understandingly at her son.

"And that's why you were evil? I mean… That's why you cast the curse?" Henry asked, curious as to what could prompt a good person to do such bad things.

"Yes, that. Among other things… Some very bad things happened to me when I was a teenager, Henry… And I didn't handle them very well. But I'm trying to fix things."

"How did you learn to use your magic?" He glanced at the spilled milk, wishing he knew how to use magic so he could fix the mistake.

"Well, I believe that everyone has their own trigger. I don't know the science behind how we learn magic. But at first, I used to imagine a wave pulsating forward and doing exactly what I wanted, and that got my magic flowing. Do you remember what you were thinking about right before you made the milk move?" Regina asked. She had been trying her best to teach Henry, but he wasn't biologically related to her, so she had no idea if his magic was the same. He, and most certainly Emma even though she hadn't yet mastered it, had inherited the magic that Snow White possessed.

"I was getting really frustrated. And then I scrunched up my nose like this." He demonstrated, his face contorting so that his nose wrinkled, his nostrils flared and his lips quivered from pursing them so hard. Regina probably would have found the face amusing, if she wasn't now floating four feet off the ground.

"Henry! Keep thinking about me floating, but slowly lowering towards the ground. Please, don't drop me." Regina grinned down at him, terrified to be in the hands of a first timer, but incredibly proud of her son.

"Okay…" Henry said nervously, lifting his hand and trying to use it as a conductor, he lowered it slowly. Regina landed smoothly on the balls of her feet, not even stumbling as she landed back on her heels –Which had noticeably increased in height since she had been outed as the queen.

"Henry! You did it! That was perfect!" She wrapped her arms around him again and squeezed as tight as she could, ecstatic about his success.

"Really? That's my thing? Wiggling my nose?" He whined as she released him.

"Honey, trust me, no one will be looking at your nose when you're rescuing innocents and kicking bad guy ass! Oh- Sorry… That's a bad word… Uhm. Don't use it, okay?" She laughed, rustling the boys hair and grinning a huge toothy smile at him.

"What should I try next, mom?" He asked, glancing around the room.

"Levitate the glass, and throw it at the wall. Don't worry about the mess." She nodded towards the glass and watched in anticipation as Henry turned to face it.

"C'mon, c'mon…" He focused, his arm outstretched again as the glass came up and followed the movement of his arm when he thrust it forward. The glass shattered against the beige cabinets of the kitchen with a loud crash.

"Block this." Regina picked up an apple from the bowl on the table, stepping back and pitching it in Henry's general direction without aiming to actually hit him.

"Ha!" He laughed as his hand came up, an invisible force-field stopping the apple dead in its tracks before he deflected it back in her direction.

"You're a natural, Henry!" She exclaimed, catching the apple.

"Wanna play apple ping pong?" Henry grinned, hopping off the kitchen stool.

"Apple ping pong?" Regina asked, furrowing her brow as she tossed the apple up and caught it again.

"Yeah. Bounce the apple back and forth until one of us misses." Henry shrugged.

"Alright, Let's see what you've got. Your serve." She nodded to Henry, tossing him the apple.

"Okay." He threw his arm back, unleashing the hardest pitch he could.

"Looks like your two year term as pitcher for the Storybrooke Elementary softball team paid off." Regina chuckled, deflecting the apple back at her son. They bounced the apple back and forth for over a half hour before Regina finally gave up and surrendered.

"So you've mastered the manipulation of inanimate objects, but let's see what you can do with nature." Regina pointed to a patch of flower buds growing in the garden they stood in front of.

"You want me to make them bloom?" He raised his eyebrow, not sure how to do it.

"Visualize it. Make them follow you. Take control of them." Regina coached, staying on the paved trail that weaved its way through the park while Henry walked closer to the garden.

"Will it really work?" He asked, his hand now in a fist a few feet above the flowers.

"Only if you believe it will." Regina responded, watching as Henry tried to get the flowers to bloom. He slowly unclenched his fist, stretching his fingers out as the petals expanded with them.

"That's incredible." He marveled at his hand and what he had just done.

"You're right. It is. When you left the house this morning you could barely put your shirt on properly. I had to tell you it was inside out. Now you're making gardens bloom with magic." A familiar voice mused as both Regina and Henry spun around to face Charming.

"Gramps! How did you know I was here?" Henry ran to hug his grandfather, laughing at the entirely true comment about his shirt.

"I will always find you. Especially when you're learning to create mischief." He ruffled Henry's hair, shooting Regina an incredulous look.

"Henry wanted to help. He wants his mother and grandmother back. I didn't think you would mind me showing him a few tricks." Regina shrugged, grimacing at the prince. His face was gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and his posture weighed down.

"You're planning on rescuing them?" He asked, a spark in his eyes now.

"And you've given up, Charming. I can see it in your face. That's not like you. I thought 'you would always find them'?" Regina taunted.

"I _will_ always find them. I'm merely… Biding my time until I find the best opportunity to do so." He glared, becoming defensive because he knew that Regina was right; He had lost all hope. Until now.

"Right. An opportunity such as, when I've brought them back and you run down my door shouting that catch phrase at the top of your lungs." She mocked him, a small grin in place on her mouth.

"I'd like to help. You and Henry may have incredible magic, but I'm a swordsman. I've slayed many a dragon and fought more battles than you have ever witnessed." He squared his shoulders, determined not to let her get the best of him.

"Why would we need a swordsman? You're merely a prince who has fallen from his grace. As much as you'd like to think it, you're not a knight in shining armor. We can handle combat. Sorry, Charming. We don't need your _'help'._" Regina shrugged.

"Mom… Please, let him help… It's his true love and his daughter… What if I was the one out there with Emma and he wouldn't let you help?" Henry begged.

"Emma Swan is _not_ my true love, but I see your point. I understand that a parent will do anything for their child… So, yes, Charming. You can come slay the beasts that lie in our path and whatnot. Just stay out of the line of fire if we encounter anything that requires the use of _real_ magic… I don't need anyone using your accidental death to turn my own son against me." She snarked, waving a hand dismissively in his direction.

"That's all I wanted," He nodded gratuitously. "Now, when, where, and how is this going to happen?"

"We have to go through in the same place they did. The office. Tomorrow at seven O'clock. I have a restoration spell, and the remains of the portal. Suit up and meet us there." Regina explained.

"I'll be there. Henry, Be home by five, alright?" Charming smiled down at his grandson.

"Okay gramps. See ya." He squirmed away as his grandfather tried to tousle his hair.

"Have fun with _your mom, _kid." Charming said, turning to leave.

"Why do you want to save Emma and Snow? You hate them…" Henry asked, picking an unbloomed rose from the garden they were now in. They sat on a quaint little wooden bench that was tucked in among the dozens of different kinds of flowers. He opened his hand over the rose and it opened with ease.

"Because I want to know why your mothers magic seemingly transferred itself into me when the portal opened. And I'm hoping she or her mother has the answer to that question." Regina smiled as Henry handed her the rose.

"Are you sure? I have a theory." Henry shrugged, folding his legs underneath himself on the bench.

"Henry, I know you want a big happy family. And I know that you understand that true love is not limited by gender, or social standing, for that matter. You're smart, but I'm sorry I can't make you happy by confirming your theory. But I'm not, nor will I ever be in love with Emma Swan." Regina smiled apologetically. Henry was surprised by the genuine amount of sympathy he heard in her voice.

"But mom! What if you just haven't realised it yet? True love is the most powerful magic of all! That's why the portal worked when she touched you! That's why you want to rescue her! You just haven't realised it." Henry's voice raised a few octaves as he hopped up and used his hands for effect in his explanation.

"I can assure you, Henry. That's not what's happening here. Maybe I'll become friends with Emma at some point. We do have a lot in common. But I am in no way interested in a romantic relationship with _anyone _who is a part of the Charming family."


	3. Chapter 3

"Here we are, Your Majesty. So what's our plan to save my family?" Charming asked, watching Regina as she placed the tattered hat on the floor of the office as he slung the large camping bag he had packed onto his back.

"Well, Charming. We'll be going through the portal. After that, we have to improvise. Now, be quiet and let me work." Regina glanced up at him while reaching for the spell book that sat open on the floor."

"You don't have a plan?! I promise you that if they got through safely, they haven't stayed where they came through. And what if they didn't get through safely? You want to take Henry into the portal? What if none of us can make it back alive? This town will fall to pieces!" Charming shouted.

"Portals are entirely safe. And the enchanted forest still exists. We'll be fine." Regina assured him, glancing down at the page and reaching into her purse for the vial of magic solvent she had previously acquired from Mr. Gold, and the envelope in which she had carefully placed what she needed.

"What is that?" Henry asked, watching as Regina opened both the vial and the envelope.

"This is a liquid that will dissolve anything, and leave only the magic that resides within it, if there is any. And this? This is your mother's hair." She smiled as she threaded the hairs into the vial.

"How did you get my daughters hair?" Charming asked defensively.

"I went to her apartment. What? Did you think I had Ms. Swan's hair stuck to my pillow from all the nights she's spent in my bed?" Regina chuckled sarcastically, grimacing at the stunned expression on the man's face.

"You should…" Henry stated below his breath. Both Regina and David spun to look at him.

"Is there something that I should know, Regina? Something between you and my daughter?" David bent down next to Regina to examine the vial that now glowed lightly.

"God, no Charming. I'm not in love with your daughter. Henry just believes I am." Regina shrugged.

"I'll prove it! Watch." Henry exclaimed, snatching the vial from her hand.

"Henry, that's our only chance to save your family. That is pure magic. I don't have any more of your mother's hair. It was scarce, due to your grandmother's obsessive cleaning no doubt. Don't do anything you'll regret." Regina warned.

"Emma is the product of true love! So imagine if you added your own hair! You're powerful. And you're in love with her. " Henry reached for a strand of hair that rested on the shoulder of Regina's dress, threading it into the vial.

"Why is it doing that? Why is it responding so strongly?" Charming whispered, staring as the vial glowed even brighter purple.

"Whatever it is, we don't have much time. Let's do this now and do this right." Henry handed the vial back to Regina, hoping she wasn't too stunned to perform the spell.

She didn't say a word, but blew lightly against the page of the spell book. The script lifted off the page and swirled around the hat, flowing into it. The hat looked untouched… brand new.

"Regina, you need to start the portal." Charming nodded.

"That's what this was for. I'm not sure if it will work, though… It was Emma's magic that started the portal. Not mine," Regina stared at the liquid. "Hold onto each other once the portal opens. You don't want to get separated." Regina looked at the two of them, who were now holding hands tightly.

"What about you?" Henry held a hand out for her to take.

"I'm not coming with you… You'll be fine on your own." Regina poured the liquid into the hat, the portal opening almost instantly.

"It will work. Remember what you told me? Don't lose hope. You and Emma… You opened the portal together. The two of you, together. That's the answer." Henry reassured her, grasping her hand tightly.

"Henry, I'm sorry… I can't…" Regina wasn't entirely sure what she couldn't do, but she knew she couldn't. Tears streamed down her face.

"Henry, we need to go." Charming insisted.

"I'm not letting go, mom." Henry stated, jumping into the portal, pulling David in with ease. Regina managed to resist, Henry's hand still in hers. She couldn't see the rest of him, but in that moment she knew she had to follow him. She let the pull of the portal take her.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where the hell are we, Regina?" Charming coughed out, shaking the sand out of his hair.

"This is the enchanted forest… Or what's left of it." She stood up, brushing sand off of her dress.

"So, where are they?" Henry asked.

"We don't know." Regina admitted, sharing a glance with Charming as he got up.

"What was that?" He pointed to her chest.

"What was what?"

"Look that way again." Charming nodded in the direction she was previously looking.

"What, so you can leer at my breasts?" She glared.

"C'mon, mom. Just do it."

"Fine." A sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head.

"Is that… her heart?" Henry asked hesitantly.

"You two are ridiculous." She groaned.

"No, I saw it too. Your heart was glowing…"

"Can we please get serious? Need I remind you, we're now _stranded _in the middle of the enchanted forest?" Regina folded her arms over her chest, feeling slightly violated.

"After you put that sleeping curse on Snow, Rumplestiltskin enchanted a ring for me. It glowed brighter the closer I got to finding her." He pointed out.

"Her heart is enchanted?" Henry furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't want to think about why it would glow for my family, but it's our best option right now." Charming shrugged.

"You're in love with her. I told you! Your heart belongs to Emma. It's trying to get you back to her." Henry exclaimed.

"Henry, I am _not _in love with Miss Swan."

"Let's get something straight here, Regina. You touch my daughter, and I'll have your head." Charming stepped closer, his eye contact unmistakeably intended to intimidate her.

"When I speak, do you hear 'blah, blah, blah. I love Emma.' Or do you understand English?"

"It doesn't matter right now. Just walk." Henry stepped between them, throwing his hands up as a white flag.

"Henry's right. We need to start walking now. We don't know how far we might have to go before we find them." He strode away from her in their decided direction, grabbing the camping bag.

"At least give me a moment. It's not like you can go anywhere without me." She grinned, snapping her fingers. She was surrounded by a cloud of purple, blowing away to reveal a more practical attire.

"Are you good to go now?" Charming asked impatiently.

"I'll lead the way."

* * *

"You brought a tent _and _sleeping bags? Maybe you really are a hero. I'm not a fan of sleeping under the stars." Regina smirked, watching as Henry and Charming put together the framework of the tent.

"Who knew that camping gear could be the thing to charm Her Majesty, Regina Mills?" He laughed, pushing together two poles.

"It's not. You could charm me if you had a portable castle. These conditions are hardly fit for a Queen, but they are better than nothing." She shrugged.

"Close. The sleeping bags self-inflate."

"Now I see what our dear Snow sees in you. Henry, Honey. Why don't you try to start a fire with your magic?" She offered, standing up to take the tent poles from Henry.

"Where should I put it?" He glanced around the clearing.

"A few feet from the entrance of the tent. Close enough that whoever is standing guard can protect us." Charming explained.

"Shall we take turns, Charming?"

"Four hour shifts work for you?" He asked, attaching the tent to the framework to finish it off.

"I guess I can do without my minimum eight hours of beauty sleep for a night." She shrugged.

"I did it!" Henry shouted, pointing to the flames that seemingly had no source. They appeared to be springing up from the ground itself.

"Soon you'll be better than me." Regina shook her head in disbelief.

* * *

"Would it be okay… If I curled up next to you?" Henry asked, sitting up on the edge of his sleeping bag.

"Of course, Henry. I'm your mother. You don't have to ask, dear." She smiled, tears in her eyes.

"I know I'm almost eleven, but I miss you." He clambered over the flashlight that glowed between the two mattresses, crawling into Regina's sleeping bag.

"I miss you, too. Do you remember when you had the chicken pox, and I held you all night long even though I had never had them before?"

"That hurt so bad. I'm really glad you didn't catch them." He nestled into her side, resting his head on her stomach.

"I remember it because you screamed and screamed, until I held you and rubbed your back." She ran her fingers through his hair, refamiliarising herself with the feeling of holding her son.

"Hey mom, are you _sure_ you don't have any feelings for Emma?"

"I'm almost certain, Henry. Why are you so fixated on this?" She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Because it makes sense."

"I'll give it some thought, but I don't think it will change anything." She offered, trying to satisfy his questions.

"She's not that bad, you know? She can't really cook, but she tries. She's kind of messy, too. But I like it when I stay with her. She tries her best because she cares." Henry explained. Regina couldn't help but feel a bit insulted.

"I care, too. You know that, don't you?" She whispered.

"Of course you do. You're my mom. I just meant that if you gave her a chance… Maybe she'd care about you too. Maybe you'd even like her."

Regina didn't say anything for a few minutes. She just held onto Henry while tears brimmed on her eyes. She distinctly remembered him shouting 'I found my real mom' what was just less than a year ago on the night Emma had come into their lives.

"I'll think about it." Was her only response, but Henry had fallen asleep during her silence. She kissed his head and closed her own eyes, waiting for the peacefulness of sleep to take her.

* * *

Charming poked his head inside the tent, ready to wake Regina up. He paused as he realised that any movement by her would wake Henry. He would never admit it, but for the first time, he saw the real Regina. Not Regina the 'evil' queen, not Regina the mayor, but Regina the person. He zipped the tent and sat down on the sleeping bag next to the fire as a thought crept into his head. _Maybe having Regina in the family wouldn't be so bad… as long as she kept the murder to a minimum._

* * *

Regina yawned, waking slowly from the best sleep she'd had in a long time. She turned her head to see Charming seated inside the tent, drinking from a bottle of water and biting into an Apollo chocolate bar.

"Really Charming? Chocolate for breakfast? Not a great example for Henry." She shook her head, realizing Henry wasn't there.

"Henry's outside. Kid had to go to the washroom."

"In the woods? That's unsanitary." She shook her head.

"Yeah well I don't see a toilet."

"Please tell me you brought a roll of toilet paper." She sighed, noting that she would have to go at some point as well.

"Better. I brought three." He joked.

"Why didn't you wake me for my shift last night?" Regina questioned.

"You had Henry. He was asleep. Didn't want to wake him up." Charming shrugged.

"Well, we'd better get a move on if we plan to find your family."

"Up n' at 'em." He nodded.


End file.
